10 Things You Should Know About The iOS 8.3 Update

iOS 8.2 was the last major update released by Apple for the iPhone and iPad. However, there is no denying that the update brought with itself a host of bugs and performance issues that were definitely not expected from a company of Apple’s stature. Fans can now finally breathe a sigh of relief because Apple has come out with the much awaited iOS 8.3 update that promises to fix all those bugs and smoothen out the OS performance. What’s more, the update also adds a variety of new features to the Apple operating system. Let’s take a look at what the new update has to offer.

1) New Emoji

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In the new update, Apple has claimed to have added up to 300 new Emoji for users to choose from while using the Emoji keyboard. The new Emoji keyboard now features more characters and the icing on the cake is that the keyboard showcases great racial diversity in its characters. A long tap on an existing Emoji will bring out a list of the same character in different racial profiles. Happy chatting!

2) Wireless CarPlay

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CarPlay, Apple’s in-car feature lets you listen to music, navigate maps and interact with Siri in a CarPlay supported vehicle. Previously, users had to use the Lightning cable for this feature; but not anymore. The new update enables CarPlay to work wirelessly with the car dashboard.

3) Text Message features

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Apple has added two new and useful features in the messaging App. The first one is the ‘Filter Unknown Senders’ toggle, which instantly filters messages sent by numbers not in your Contacts list and displays them in a separate list. The other is the report spam button which is now displayed right in the message app.

4) Improved Space Bar

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There were a lot of complaints with the iOS 8.2 keyboard, wherein users experienced problems while using the space bar. A quick tap on the space bar would occasionally not register and instead, a period would unwittingly appear. Apple has apparently fixed the problem by increasing the size of the space bar by a few millimeters and reducing the size of the period button next to it.

5) Siri call using speakerphone

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You can now ask Siri to call a contact and directly put them on speakerphone. This reduces one step and makes it easier to start a call on speakerphone while on the move. To use this feature, just say, ”Hey Siri, call ‘contact name’ on speakerphone”.

6) Easier Google Login

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The update finally makes it easier for users to log into their Google accounts by using a two factor authentication system

7) Overall performance fixes, bug fixes etc.

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The update also promises to have sorted out various bugs that iOS 8.2 users faced. A fix is in place for the orientation bug and smoothens out various performance issues.

8) Better Wifi connectivity

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A lot of users faced frequent dropped connections over WiFi and this new update promises to fix the bug.

9) Improved Photo Album

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The new photo album features a small icon on the preview image that identifies the type of images in the particular album. For example, an album containing time lapse images feature a clock while those with Panoramas feature a rectangle.

10) Separate Apple Pay and Passbook

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Apple has separated Apple Pay cards and Passbook cards to make it easier to identify them. When Apple Pay reaches the peak of its popularity, users will find it easier to sort out Passbook passes and gift cards from Apple Pay cards.